2026 Alum of the Year Award: Eric Brubaker ’01

This is the first of four profiles about the recipients of EMU’s 2026 Alumni Awards. For more information about the annual awards and a full list of past winners, visit emu.edu/alumni/awards.

Eric Brubaker ’01, fiddler and founding member of the folk-rock band The Steel Wheels, jokes that he owes his touring career to EMU.

The social work major performed in the EMU Orchestra and choir and toured Cuba with the Chamber Singers. Music had always been an important part of his life, but he never imagined it would become his profession.

When he and four other students formed a bluegrass band called Reuben’s Potted Ferns during his junior year, EMU’s Admissions Office sent the group on a 10-day recruiting tour during the spring of 2000. The band played 16 shows, primarily at Mennonite schools and churches throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“So, I blame EMU for starting off my touring career,” Brubaker said with a laugh.

After graduating, he quickly realized that a career in social work was not for him. He returned to music, joining fellow EMU alumni Trent Wagler ’02 and Brian Dickel ’98 and Goshen College graduate Jay Lapp to form what would become The Steel Wheels.

More than two decades, two additional band members, and over a dozen studio albums later, Brubaker and his bandmates have carved out a successful career as musicians.

“I know that’s a hard thing to do, and EMU gave me a great starting place for that,” Brubaker said. “I was allowed to find myself here. I didn’t know what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be, and here I was able to study different things but also continue to play music.”

He said his time in the Chamber Singers under Professor Emeritus Dr. Kenneth J. Nafziger taught him the importance of listening to the people he performs with.

“You can’t have a band that lasts for 20 years without truly listening to each other: on stage, off stage, musically, and relationally,” he said.

Beyond performing, Brubaker uses music to bring people together and build community. He is a co-founder of the Red Wing Roots Music Festival, hosted annually by the band in nearby Mount Solon, Virginia, which has featured artists including Old Crow Medicine Show, Lucinda Williams, and Steve Earle.

He also hosts Red Wing Academy, a four-day music camp at EMU that teaches roughly 140 students ages 5 to 19—adults joined the program for the first time this year—to play string instruments. Participants perform on stage with The Steel Wheels during the music festival.

“Music creates a moment where everyone is focusing on the same thing,” he said. “It’s not politics. It’s not religion. It’s just a gathering of humanity that wants to celebrate something beautiful.”

Brubaker’s commitment to connecting communities through music has earned him EMU’s 2026 Alum of the Year Award. The award recognizes alumni for significant achievements in their profession, community, or church and serves to inspire others to lead lives of service and vocational excellence.

“I’m honored,” he said. “There are so many people who have done amazing work, and so many people working hard behind the scenes who never receive acclaim.”

The community Brubaker has spent years helping build became especially meaningful in 2019, when he and his wife lost their young daughter, Norah, to a sudden illness.

“We were surrounded not only by our artistic community, the people who loved the band and the music we made, but also by the community surrounding EMU and the larger Mennonite community,” he said. “They were incredibly supportive.”

Today, Brubaker and his wife, Peggy ’00, are continuing their commitment to making music accessible. They recently formed the nonprofit Red Wing Academy Foundation, which provides scholarships for students to attend the camp.

“It’s been amazing to connect with people who want to help pass music on to a younger generation,” he said.

The Steel Wheels will perform a live show on campus at the annual Royal City Celebration from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, during Homecoming 2026.

Brubaker will share his story at EMU TenTalks, held on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. in Martin Chapel, also during Homecoming. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit emu.edu/homecoming.